E C O L I N T M AGA Z I N E • N ° 15 • AUT U M N 2 014

In partnership with the Alumni Association

QUOI DE NEUFA beating heart

ESPRITECOLINT Notre toute première élève

There and back

90 years, 9 questions, 90 alumni

LES ANCIENSET PAS SO OLDFriends reunited

A note from the alumni office

Rewind to the reunion

THIS ISSUE A word from the DG

Introduction

INSIGHTS 90 ways to celebrate turning 90

Catching up with an alumna in Nepal

COMING UP OR JUSTBEENFrom here to 2019

A vos agendas

“Happy 90th birthday Ecolint.”Students and teachers, Pregny, Campus des Nations Photo courtesy of Stephane Deghaye

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A WORD FROM THE DG

This issue

Sometimes pictures express what we want to share better than words and so it is for the unique moments that were lived at Ecolint on 17th September 2014, our 90th birthday, which was a glorious and special day. We started the year with a record 4,414 students enrolled and they, along with our staff, celebrated in fine style the day that our school opened in 1924 with just 8 students. Back then, before antibiotics, before automatic washing machines, before the atomic bomb, the jet engine, the contraceptive pill, the internet and a host of other inventions, life was very different. There has been lots of progress and yet, today, there are still too many children around the world who do not have the opportunity to study, to gain an education or who have their prospects limited in other ways. That is why it is so important that our students do not squander theirs. Today, the pace of change is rapid. Many things that were invented after our school opened like tape recorders, the Walkman and the floppy disk are pretty much obsolete. Our school is here today because we still believe in the things that mattered then, because they still matter today. We are far from obsolete because we have been able to adapt, to prepare our students for their changing world. And this we must continue to do. The 17th September was a day of singing and birthday cake, of moving assemblies and the release of balloons with messages of peace, of dancing and of great human warmth. I hope it is a day our students and staff will remember for the rest of their lives. It was also a day when we reaffirmed what we stand for. We still educate for peace – blending our students’ academic and emotional intelligence with our values so that they work out how to live together with all races and creeds. We still embody an education without frontiers, showing tolerance and respect for one another, encouraging mastery of more than one language. We still place the child at the centre: caring for each one of them; supporting them; helping them to learn and challenging them. Le 28 septembre, par un soleil magnifique, 1’500 membres de la communauté Ecolint ont pris la route soit à vélo, soit à pied,

depuis La Châtaigneraie ou le Campus des Nations vers La Grande Boissière pour un barbecue et une journée portes ouvertes à notre magnifique Centre des arts. Quelle belle fête! Veuillez consulter notre site web pour découvrir tout le programme du 90e anniversaire (www.ecolint.ch/90th-pgm).

Working in education is to drink at the fountain of eternal youth as each year new classes join us to begin their learning journey and others conclude their studies and move on to university! How lucky we were then, at La Grande Boissière on our birthday, in our Greek Theatre to be able to reach back across a continuous line of alumni to our very first student in 1924, Loïs Meyhoffer, who joined us for the event. What a remarkable lady! Nos 4’414 élèves sont l’Ecolint d’aujourd’hui, ils sont l’avenir, l’espoir de demain. La paix et la tolérance de demain sont leur responsabilité. Ce sont eux les porteurs du flambeau de notre école qui va vers son centenaire dans un monde complexe, beau et plein de défis. Merci pour votre soutien dans cette entreprise passionnante.

Bon anniversaire Ecolint.

Vicky Tuck, Director General

This issue

It is my pleasure to introduce this issue of echo magazine. I am constantly reminded of the importance of education and how what we do at school can shape our lives. When I was 16, I took an extra-curricular course in photography at school and it changed the course of my life. These weekly lunch hours spent in the dark turned a mediocre student in Latin into an adventurous photographer and a passionate art historian. If only I could have imagined how my interests would, one day, lead me to the role of being the Director of Ecolint’s Centre des arts.

I am optimistic about how the course of many students' lives will be changed for the better due to their exposure and involvement in the wide variety of artistic activities that the Centre des arts will enable and promote. In this issue, we hear from many alumni about how Ecolint touched their lives and the irresistible pull which brings so many back to reunions and, even more incredibly, in the article “There and back” on p.11-12, about the many alumni who now teach here.

In these times of mass media and marketing, with global news and entertainment empires deciding what we see, hear and read about, and with the ever-expanding reach of the internet, the trend is for increasing cultural homogenisation. Remaining original, celebrating differences and maintaining our own individuality is definitely becoming harder.

At Ecolint, we currently have more than 4110 students with 140 different nationalities, speaking 83 mother tongue languages. I think that we are incredibly lucky and our diversity is one of our greatest strengths. We should harness our cultural wealth and use it to encourage at least as many ways of seeing and ways of thinking, to share with each other and reach out to the wider community. I know that the Centre des arts will greatly enhance our students’ daily lives but, perhaps more importantly, it will allow many new and improved opportunities. I want to work with the whole community, students, teachers and parents, to create a vibrant and wonderful arena for the arts for all of us.

Art is definitely one of the ways to encourage self-expression and nurture creativity. The Centre des arts, having just opened, brings a host of incredible facilities for the benefit of the school community which you can read more about in the

article “A beating heart” on p.7-8. But the Centre des arts offers so much more than just facilities. It brings creativity to the core of the Foundation and will require

all of us to think anew about how we can work together to build a rich and authentic artistic and cultural life at the heart of the Ecolint community. Reading the article on p.4-5 about our youngest students at Pregny who designed and wrote postcards for students in an orphanage in India, really shows just how huge an impact creativity and sharing can actually have.

I am full of enthusiasm and will be working as hard as I can to make sure that the Centre des arts and its programming will encourage all of us, students, parents, staff and teachers, to be open and embrace their otherness (altérité) as we all discover the wonder of art in all its forms. I look forward to welcoming everyone to the Centre des arts in the future and invite you to contact me to share your thoughts and ideas to ensure that the Centre des arts fulfills its incredible potential. I hope that you enjoy reading about the Centre des arts and the many other things included in this issue of echo magazine.

Anne-Laure Oberson,Director of the Centre des arts,La Grande Boissièreanne-laure.oberson@ecolint.ch

A WORD FROM THE DG

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INTRODUCTION

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Insights

Hassina Sedik-Benyahia,Pre-Reception Teacher,Pregny, Campus des Nations

I loved the idea of a project to celebrate Ecolint’s 90th birthday. I wanted to celebrate the spirit of Ecolint: being open-minded, tolerant and caring about others. The emphasis was on the importance of all the people involved in the idea of “one person, one action”, bringing communities together through our actions and celebrations.

In March 2014, a meeting with parents was organised before school. Recognising that it is not easy to get to school 30 minutes early when you have young children, I was very grateful and happy to see so many of my class parents there at the meeting. The parents were ready and willing to get involved, shared their ideas and offered their amazing skills to help. We came up with our idea for a project of “90 actions to celebrate Ecolint’s 90th birthday”.

I liked the fact that this was going to be such a collaborative project. By meeting with parents and asking for their ideas and opinions, then discussing the project with the children and hearing their input and suggestions, we would all be working together. We could get everyone to connect on so many different levels.

Project ideas were discussed and developed with Nikki Ross, our Primary Years Programme (PYP) Coordinator, and involved the Early Years team at school. We also worked with the many class parents who had volunteered. I immediately thought about the Jhamtse Ghatal Children’s Community in Northern India. This school-orphanage is located in

a remote region of the Himalayas, close to the borders with Bhutan and Tibet and is currently home to 86 children. It provides a model school and community “to show the power of the concepts of love, compassion and wisdom to bring about opportunity and change.” These are exactly the kinds of ideas that we are teaching our children as part of the PYP philosophy, “to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.”

I had heard about Jhamtse from Suzanne Bader, a former Ecolint colleague, who is currently fundraising and sourcing volunteers for this inspirational school and

orphanage. A number of other students and teachers of Campus des Nations are also already involved with Jhamtse, so our involvement provides continuity. It is an ideal organisation to which we could all reach out and include in our actions and celebrations.

Some of the projects we have been doing as part of the “90 actions to celebrate Ecolint’s 90th birthday” since March 2014 include:

• The students created and designed posters for the winter clothing collection for the Jhamtse Community Orphanage.

• We held the winter clothing collection at Pregny and collected 43 bags of clothes to send to the children at the Jhamtse Community Orphanage (thank you to everyone for their generosity).

• Children and parents baked snacks to sell at the Jhamste Charity Concert to raise money for the charity.

• We made the shape of 90 and the logo of Ecolint with our students and their parents (photo on the front cover).

• We wrote postcards and letters to the children of the Jhamtse Community (see photos above of the Jhamste children receiving our communications).

90 WAYS TO CELEBRATE TURNING 90In this article, two of Pregny’s Early Years Teachers tell us about how their students have been celebrating Ecolint’s 90th birthday year. So far, their celebrations have involved many activities that have mobilised the students, class parents and the whole community into doing some amazing and wonderful things for others around the world.

Jenny Matheson with Hassina Sedik-Benyahia

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Jennifer Matheson, Reception Teacher (maternity cover last school year), Pregny, Campus des Nations

When I met Hassina, who was working on ideas for celebrating Ecolint’s 90th birthday, I found her energy and enthusiasm inspiring. I definitely wanted my Reception class to participate in all the activities she was planning, especially the winter clothes collection and communicating with the children at the Jhamtse Community in India.

Even though my students were just five years old, they were really enthusiastic about connecting with other children around the world. After asking the class for ideas about how they might be able to connect with the children in Jhamtse, they decided to make their own postcards all about Switzerland and themselves. It is a stretch for five year olds to understand about poverty and lack of education and healthcare but I explained to my class that the children in the Jhamtse Community would love receiving postcards from them.

It is easy to understand how receiving a postcard could make someone feel really happy. The children had lots of

ideas about what they wanted to put in the postcards. As a class, we brain-stormed what Switzerland looks like and came up with ideas around the flag, cows, mountains, the lake and the jet d’eau. Each student drew a picture with something Swiss on the front and they all wrote a little bit about themselves on a large postcard (see photos above of students working on their postcards). Doing the postcards with the children really brought home just how writing has so much more meaning when you are doing it for a purpose. All the students really enjoyed taking part. Seeing the photos of the Jhamtse students receiving our postcards is amazing. Celebrating the 90th birthday in this way is just one example of how we can all do things that bring happiness and help to spread joy to others near and far around the world. One of the great things about working at Ecolint is that there are always so many opportunities to collaborate with colleagues and others further afield and seeing how the students benefit from these collaborations is incredibly rewarding.

The website for the Jhamtse Ghatal Children’s Community is at www.jhamtseswitzerland.ch.

Some of the Pre-Reception children tell us how they felt about the 90th birthday activities and celebrations in which they have taken part:

“ It was fun to do all the activities for the school birthday with my friends.” (Lily)

“ We are hoping to help and be caring with the children in India. Thank you Mummies and Daddies for helping us celebrate the birthday of our school. The school is very old because it has a 9 and a 0.” (Chloé)

« On a fait beaucoup d’actions mais on peut faire encore plus d’actions! C’était bien d’avoir les mamans et les papas avec nous. C’était amusant.» (Giada)

“ I like the school and it was caring to write to another school in India.” (Maren)

“ It is nice to celebrate with other children.” (Arthur)

« On peut prendre un peu de nous pour donner aux autres enfants.» (Gabriela)

90 WAYS TO CELEBRATE TURNING 90

The Jhzamse Ghatal students with their postcards Pregny students working hard making their postcards

Jhamse Ghatal classroom

Pregny students at work in their classroom

Hassina Sedik-Benyahia,Pre-Reception Teacher,

and Jennifer Matheson,Reception Teacher,

Pregny, Campus des Nations

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CATCHING UP WITH AN ALUMNA IN NEPAL

Insights

Pratigya Simkhada, LGB ‘99, attended Ecolint from 1996 to 1999. After graduation, she studied Business Management and Psychology at Webster University in Geneva. Here she shares her memories and reflects on her time at Ecolint.

Best and worst memories?Best – times spent with my friends.Worst – sitting the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB) examinations and waiting for the results after that.

Greatest achievement at school?My biggest achievement at school was, in my view, understanding that there is a world beyond academics and getting involved in local volunteer work.

How well did Ecolint prepare you for life after school?Ecolint has given me a cultural sensitivity that is much-needed in this globally connected world. I feel at ease almost anywhere I go, be it a new country or even a new organisation. I can empathise with local and international issues and I truly consider myself a citizen of the world, thanks to Ecolint and the IB programme.

What have you done since graduation and what are you doing now?I have worked in public relations in New York for various fashion designers and I am currently working for the Federal Department for Foreign Affairs of Switzerland in the Embassy of Switzerland in Nepal as the Senior Executive Office Manager. I am also a member of a society called “friends of the disabled” in Nepal and I have been involved in actively raising funds for the Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled Children. In 2011, we raised funds worth US $100,000 (which is a lot in Nepal!). On a personal level, I am happily married and have a three-year-old son.

Did Ecolint help shape the direction of the career/life you have chosen?Yes, Ecolint is definitely a part of my identity and helped create my network

of friends and colleagues. Having been in Switzerland could be one of the influences that led me to work at the Embassy of Switzerland in Nepal today.

Are you still in touch with other former classmates and the school?Yes, many. Some of them even came to my wedding in Nepal. I love going back to Geneva to see my friends as quite a few of them are still living there. I have also been delighted to reconnect with the school due to a programme organised by Ecolint to bring students to Nepal to volunteer in an orphanage. I helped coordinate an introductory session for the students with the Head of the Swiss

Mission, who gave them an overview of the development work being carried out by the Swiss Government in Nepal.

What advice would you give to students to make the best of their time at Ecolint?Explore, be adventurous and question, as you are well-placed to have your curiosity satisfied. You may not fully realise it now, but you are getting the best education possible!

Anything else you would like to add?If I could go back to school, I would definitely go back to Ecolint and I would not change a thing.

CATCHING UP WITH AN ALUMNA IN NEPAL

Stephen Preece,Head of Visual Arts,Secondary School,

La Grande Boissière

A BEATING HEARTQuoi de neuf

On 1st September 2014 the new Centre des arts at La Grande Boissière (LGB) opened its doors. It brings with it incredible new spaces and facilities for the benefit of the whole school community. In this article, we hear from Stephen Preece, Head of Visual Arts, Secondary School, Momar Seck, Visual Arts teacher, Middle and Secondary Schools, and a number of Middle and Secondary School students at LGB about their first impressions of the new Centre des arts and what it will mean to them.

Stephen Preece: The Centre des arts is an opportunity to develop an ideas factory here at La Grande Boissière. It will be a place where students can take ownership of their own ideas and hone them through a rigorous learning process, to the point where they can share them with others in the form of a practical presentable outcome.

This building should not, of course, despite its title, belong just to the Arts. It should also reach out to other knowledge areas through its commitment to the development of creative and critical thinking skills. These are skills fit for the 21st century within which the Arts should excel but over which they certainly cannot claim ownership. I would like to see this building developed as an ideas factory for all students who set foot in the place and not just those labeled as artists.

Here are a couple of innovative propositions already in the pipeline at the Centre des arts:

• Working with the Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain (Mamco) and their outreach programme. Rather than discussing contemporary art, students will be involved in its production, culminating in the display of work from Mamco alongside that of our students.

• Working with CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) to diminish the barriers between the subject areas.

• Moving Visual Arts closer to Design and Communication (shared knowledge) using new media.

• Increasing collaboration with IPAC DESIGN and other higher Arts institutions.

• Sharing contacts, knowledge, expertise and promoting joint initiatives.

• Nudging the different departments away from their present default position of ownership of space and materials to one of shared student-owned and driven common resources.

• Attempting to bring Björk and her Biophilia programme to our students here at LGB because her work is exceedingly creative and rigorous and she typifies the best use of new media, where the image and the sound merge through her apps for learning.

• Pairing students from Rwanda with our own students, and supplementing their experience here in Geneva with work in the Centre des arts and an evening with Dr Murkesh Kapila, CBE, Professor of Global Health and Humanitarian Affairs at the University of Manchester.

Our capacity to innovate and create is what sets us apart from other species and we have never been in need of innovation more than right now. This generation of learners will have to re-invent everything and we need to be much more radical and rigorous in our thinking and purpose. We cannot demolish our schools and cities but we can innovate at speeds and on a scale that our forebears would not have been able to imagine.

Most of what we need to build a sustainable future is already here but we must learn to ask the right questions, get real in terms of the efforts required and better understand our responsibilities to ourselves and others. So why not start right here by looking for innovative ways of empowering our students with their own learning within the walls of the Centre des arts?

The Secondary School students should be encouraged to take ownership of the spaces in the Centre des arts and this will ultimately reflect how we define ourselves as a learning community and how we move forward together. Recent 90th birthday celebrations here at LGB have been the first steps in this direction. The Centre des arts will provide the platform for the school to move beyond rhetoric and re-define its teaching and learning practices, offering future custodians of the planet a more practical and relevant education.

I am calling for a designed practical framework which would aim to bring the words hidden within the Guiding Principles for Learning in the Twenty-first Century off the page and give them life. I can think of no greater purpose for the Centre des arts.

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Quoi de neuf A BEATING HEART (SUITE)

Middle School Student Council (StuCo), LGB

We asked the 25-strong members of the Middle School Student Council (StuCo) about their first impressions of the Centre des arts and their hopes and aspirations for it. The vast majority of StuCo representatives had been in the Centre des arts in the first three weeks of term for visual arts, music or one-to-one instrumental lessons. Many also went to find out about extra curricular courses in visual arts, drama or music. The first hand experience is that it is “cool”, “modern” but still a bit “grey”!

Overwhelmingly the Middle School students were looking forward to putting their mark on the Centre des arts: whether through exhibitions (Tatum Jansma, Year 5) and sharing of student works - “art on the walls and in the halls” (Niamh Howe, Year 8) or performances, big and small, in the theatre or auditorium. The excitement was for a Centre des arts in which they can work and share their creativity. The students are already thinking about some of the technical challenges of the space: no back-stage in the main auditorium (Daisy Kent Lithincum, Year 8).

The StuCo reps were also extremely practical. “The Centre des arts needs a map, as finding your way around four floors when you do not know what is where is a real challenge” (Benjamin Schmale, Year 7). “It will be a place where students from all three campuses can go to have fun in art and music” (Victor Boros, Year 7). The Middle Schoolers were also thinking out of the box. “What about taking the wonderful Odyssey of the Mind programme to the Centre des arts?” (Abay Amangeldin, Year 5).

Year 12 and 13, IB Diploma Programme, Visual Arts students, Secondary School, La Grande Boissière

The students were asked what they think about the Centre des arts and which facilities they are most likely to use.

“It is cool! There is a lot of room and we have our own area to hang out and to work. I will be using the Visual Arts rooms the most.” (Lily McNally)

“I really like it. It is great to have one building for all the arts and it means you have more opportunities. I will use the art rooms most. They are really open and big and there are lots of them. It is much easier to access materials.” (Lucia Davies)

“We have been gifted with an immense space with all the opportunities and potential that such a space can afford. Our school is leaking hidden talent and this centre should act as a reservoir for collecting this latent talent in one space.

By empowering students with the ownership of this facility this objective can be realised. Why not open the facility one night a week for all creative minds within the community to come together and learn, share and create? Whatever their background, the performer, artist, musician, scientist, philosopher could all come together through student-generated events and various workshops.

Art can unify. It would make sense to learn from previous students who built a communal space, the Greek Theatre, which functions brilliantly without keys or individual ownership. It is this collective unifying spirit that should be rekindled within the walls of this centre. In order to succeed, we must empower this generation of students with their own spaces, and give them a platform where their ideas can become reality and their voices can be heard.

The Centre des arts can be used as a catalyst to bring the Ecolint community together but only if students and staff work hard together to put the Art in the Centre des arts.” (Anastasia Sidorenko).

“I really like the fact that we have everything we need to express ourselves. I will be using the art rooms the most as they are quiet and we do not get disturbed anymore.” (Matthew Mouthon)

“I like the fact that it has a lot of space and we have our own IB study room. It is really focused on the arts, with music and drama, all in one building. I will be using the IB study room and the arts rooms the most.” (Laura Sublet)

We asked Momar Seck, Visual Arts Teacher, Middle and Secondary Schools, LGB, to tell us what he thinks about the new Centre des arts and its potential uses.

«C’est l’idée fondamentale de l’ouverture et des milliers d’opportunités pour les élèves que j’apprécie le plus. En tant que professeur, les espaces sont beaucoup plus adaptés et l’on peut redonner de l’importance à l’art.

Nous pouvons inviter les artistes de l’extérieur pour que nos élèves soient plus souvent confrontés aux œuvres réelles».

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Rappelez-nous les circonstances qui vous ont liées à l’Ecolint.Mon père, Paul Meyhoffer, a été le premier directeur de l’école. Après des études de théologie, il étudié à l’Institut Jean-Jacques Rousseau où il a par la suite créé la Maison des grands1, avant d’être appelé à la direction de cette toute nouvelle école. Il était normal que je sois scolarisée à l’Ecolint – nous avons même vécu à La Grande Boissière quelques années – et je figure même sur la première ligne du registre de 1924 !

Vous avez fréquenté l’Ecolint de 1924 à 1937. Qu’avez-vous fait juste après ?Pour des raisons qui m’échappent un peu, mes parents avaient souhaité que je passe ma maturité dans le système scolaire secondaire public. Je crois qu’ils voulaient que je me frotte à l’enseignement local pour obtenir ce fameux diplôme suisse.

Vous avez donc connu les deux systèmes, privé et public. Dans quelle mesure était-ce différent ?Dans le public, nous n’étions que des filles et nous ne faisions pas de sport, ce que je regrettais vivement car j’aimais beaucoup jouer au basket à l’Ecolint ! Sinon, l’école publique était globalement plus stricte et les professeurs nous vousoyaient, ce dont je n’avais pas l’habitude. Au niveau de l’enseignement, tout était plus théorique.

A l’Ecolint, nous avions par exemple entrepris d’élever des vers à soie pour étudier la Route de la soie ! De même, nous avions travaillé un chapitre d’histoire en préparant une pièce de théâtre basée sur la tapisserie de Bayeux. Les élèves jouaient les protagonistes anglais et français dans leur langue respective. Nos professeurs voulaient que nous apprenions par l’expérimentation concrète, ce qui était très stimulant.

Qu’avez-vous fait, une fois votre maturité en poche ?J’ai étudié les Lettres à l’Université de Genève car j’aimais beaucoup les langues et la littérature. Après mon diplôme, j’ai travaillé pour un organisme chrétien d’aide

aux réfugiés d’abord en Suisse, puis à Paris. Par la suite, j’ai intégré le Conseil œcuménique des églises pour lequel j’ai travaillé six ans en Allemagne. Le Conseil m’a ensuite proposé un poste à Genève où je m’occupais de programmes d’auto-assistance dans divers pays. Nous avons également travaillé avec l’Eglise protestante pour ouvrir une maison de repos pour les pasteurs qui avaient souffert pendant la guerre.

Ce parcours à travers l’Europe et la maîtrise des langues, le devez-vous en partie à l’Ecolint ?Il est certain que le bilinguisme tel qu’il était pratiqué à l’Ecolint dès le début de ma scolarité m’a en quelque sorte

ouvert le monde. Je ne me souviens pas d'avoir appris à lire en français et en anglais, mais d’avoir tout simplement appris à lire ! J’ai intégré les deux langues presque sans distinction, à tel point que je peux dire que l’anglais est ma seconde langue maternelle. Plus tard, la séparation de l’Ecolint en section francophone et anglophone a été à mon avis une grosse erreur car c’était contraire à l’esprit de

Esprit ecol int

NOTRE TOUTE PREMIERE ELEVE

Catherine Mérigay,Chargée de communication,

Département du Développement

C’est dans l’appartement qui l’a vu naître à Genève que Loïs Meyhoffer nous reçoit, toujours vive et dynamique du haut de ses 96 printemps. La toute première élève de l’Ecolint a accepté d’évoquer pour nous des souvenirs d’école qui ont traversé le XXe siècle pour aborder le XXIe et aboutir en réflexion sur l’avenir. Le monde moderne ne semble guère l’impressionner : elle a beau être née en 1918, elle possède une adresse email!

1 La Maison des grands était une école expérimentale où notamment Jeanne Hersch, plus tard professeur à l’Ecolint de 1933 à 1956, a été scolarisée. La Maison des petits, pour les plus jeunes, existe toujours : www.maisondespetits.ch

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Esprit ecol int NOTRE TOUTE PREMIÈRE ÉLÈVE (SUITE)

Alex Rodriguez-Jiovo, Ecolint's Archivist, tells us a little more about Paul Meyhoffer:Paul Meyhoffer was the father of Loïs Meyhoffer, literally Ecolint’s number one student: her name is the first to have been inscribed 90 years ago in the original handwritten register, which is on display in the Foundation’s Archives.

Ecolint’s first director and one of its founders, Paul Meyhoffer (1884-1967), a Swiss citizen, was a distinguished educator from the Institut Jean-Jacques Rousseau who earlier in his life had pursued theological studies and was the author of Les idées pédagogiques de Luther (1909). He first taught in a number of progressive schools in the United Kingdom, including Bedales.

Later, he joined the Ecole Nouvelle de La Châtaigneraie, decades before it merged with Ecolint in 1974. Mr Meyhoffer’s appointment as director of Ecolint was promoted by other prominent figures of the Institut Jean-Jacques Rousseau, including Edouard Claparède, Pierre Bovet and our school’s éminence grise, Adolphe Ferrière. It would be fair to say that Mr Meyhoffer’s Christian, and specifically Protestant, ethos – which he shared with his fellow Genevois Henri Dunant, the founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross – is one of the strands that has crucially contributed to our school’s identity, together with pacifist convictions, a multi-cultural outlook and a firm belief in the “equal value of all human beings” (affirmed in Article 4 of Ecolint's Charter).

collaboration et d’échange entre les deux cultures. J’ai été contente de voir l’école revenir à l’intégration d’origine.

Dans quelle mesure l’Ecolint a-t-elle influencé votre parcours ?Je crois que ce qui m’est le plus resté de mon séjour à l’Ecolint a été la créativité, dans le sens d’une aptitude à trouver des solutions à un problème. Nous étions énormément stimulés, actifs, et nos professeurs étaient inventifs. Je me souviens d’un professeur d’allemand qui fabriquait des marionnettes ! Quand on est enfant, on retient mieux en pratiquant, la théorie n’a qu’une efficacité limitée. J’ai ainsi conservé cette capacité à résoudre les choses en faisant appel à la créativité.

Y a-t-il un professeur qui vous a particulièrement marquée ?Pour moi, Chef Schaller (il était chef scout, d’où son surnom) sortait vraiment du lot. Il était justement si inventif que ses leçons en étaient passionnantes.

Etes-vous restée en contact avec l’école ?J’ai renoué avec l’école notamment à l’occasion de son 50e anniversaire. Je me suis également occupée des anciens élèves. Nous organisions des sorties, la fête de l’Escalade et des expositions d’œuvres d’art réalisées par d’anciens élèves devenus artistes. J’ai

pris en quelque sorte la relève de mon père, qui s’était beaucoup investi pour les alumni.

A vos yeux, l’Ecolint a-t-elle changé ou est-elle restée la même au fil du temps ?Je dirais que “L'Esprit Ecolint” est heureusement resté bien vivant. Je peux en donner la preuve; je lisais l’autre jour dans le journal la récente interview de Mme Tuck, la Directrice générale2, et j’ai constaté avec satisfaction que la mission originale de l’école, celle de l’enseignement du respect et de la tolérance, était toujours respectée.

Quel message souhaiteriez-vous transmettre à l’actuelle communauté de l’Ecolint et celles à venir ? J’ai écrit récemment une brève réflexion sur l’avenir de l’Ecolint et je souhaiterais l’exprimer ici :

«En 1924, l’année de la création de l’école était une période d’euphorie. La ‘Grande Guerre’ 1914-1918 venait de se terminer et la Société des Nations était née, permettant aux peuples de régler leurs différends par le dialogue et l’arbitrage plutôt que par la guerre. Mais, une génération plus tard, éclate la Seconde Guerre mondiale.Cependant, l’école a continué à œuvrer pour la paix, engageant dans cet effort

ses enseignants, ses élèves et les milliers d’anciens dispersés aux quatre coins du monde. Et la tâche n’est toujours pas terminée, les conflits se multiplient. Que faire ?

Ne pourrions-nous pas engager une réflexion sur la place et le rôle des minorités dans nos sociétés : minorités ethniques, linguistiques ou religieuses. Il y en a partout, dans tous les pays, dans toutes les sociétés, ignorées ou bafouées par la majorité. Si l’on pouvait reconnaître leur légitimité, leur valeur, et leur donner leur juste place, cela permettrait peut-être d’éviter les conflits. Apprendre à se tolérer, à reconnaître la valeur de l’Autre, à le respecter. Tous sont nécessaires pour former une société humaine riche de toutes les cultures, de toutes les croyances.

Nous pourrions engager la communauté de notre école à réfléchir à cette question en vue de notre prochain anniversaire. Ce serait vraiment le rôle de notre école qui est l’exemple même de cet enrichissement par la différence. Montrer que c’est possible et proposer des voies à suivre pour mieux vivre ensemble serait une tâche intéressante pour tous, pour les élèves actuels comme pour nous, leurs aînés.»

2 Interview parue dans le quotidien suisse «Le Temps» lundi 1er septembre 2014. A lire sur www.ecolint.ch

11echo15 | autumn2014

Krista Clausnitzer,echo magazine editor

Paula Behrens, Year 5/6 French Bilingual Programme teacher, La Grande Boissière I started teaching at Ecolint in 2007, working as a special needs assistant at Campus des Nations, before taking the role of English as an Additional Language (EAL) assistant. I was among the first cohort of students to do the Postgraduate Certificate in Education course offered by Ecolint and Durham University and had classroom experience both at La Châtaignerie and La Grande Boissière (LGB). I have been in my current position for 4 years now.

I was a student at LGB between 1999 - 2003 and then went on to study International Development Studies and Psychology at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. After finishing my studies, I moved back to Geneva to work with a small events company raising money for charity and worked on a project to organise the Swiss Red Cross

Ball. Although I was happy to be back in Geneva and enjoyed some of the event planning work, I knew it was not what I truly wanted to be doing day in, day out. Deep in my heart, I always knew that I wanted to teach. I have always loved working with children and enjoyed being in a school environment. Many of the teachers I had at LGB, including Mrs Featherstone, Mr Hurworth, Mr Rodriguez, Mr Chalier and Mr Khimji had a very big impact on my life and helped me become who I am today. It is remarkable how positive influences from inspiring figures can help to shape your thoughts and encourage a good work ethic in the formative years. This was certainly true of my school years and I have very fond memories of my teachers and still remember a great deal of what I was taught. I am lucky to know Mrs Kwankam, the mother of a friend of mine, who gave me the opportunity to volunteer in her classroom for a couple of months. I caught the teaching bug as soon as I set foot inside the classroom and, in so doing, I took my first step towards getting qualified and expanding my experience as a teacher. It does not feel like such a long time has passed since I was a student here myself. Even nowadays I get nostalgic feelings which can feel slightly strange (but in a good way!) There are little things which make me smile, like being able to enter the elusive staff room, eating at the cafeteria and having my former teachers as colleagues. That said, LGB feels like a different place as it has developed immensely over the past decade. I tend not think about it as my old school, but rather as my place of work. It is only

when the school is empty, early in the morning or late in the evening, that I may travel down memory lane and see the school in the same way that I used to. The main difference is in how much it has grown physically over the past eleven years. It is not just bigger but, architecturally, it is now much more varied and modern, with new buildings and sporting

facilities, not to mention the newly opened Centre des arts. Naturally, the staff has also changed a great deal too and among the many much-loved “old” faces (old as in familiar, of course!), there are a lot of new faces. The values of the school remain ever-present. Its internationalism has infused into me and I see a lot of my own identity, as an international student, in my own students. Kindness, acceptance and open-mindedness are things that you see at Ecolint every day and so learn them implicitly. These are just some of the qualities that stay with you forever and are definitely among the many reasons why so many alumni are drawn back here, both to work and/or to put their own children through school on one of the Foundation’s three campuses. By far the best thing about being a teacher is seeing students’ progression, both on an academic and a personal level – and the home run is seeing both, simultaneously, of course! The true joy in teaching comes from interacting with students, seeing them develop and watching their pleasure in learning, as they become more independent and confident as individuals. I am very lucky to do what I do. I would love to go back in time for a day and thank all those people who made an impression on me and had such a big impact on my life, helping me to get where I am today.

Esprit ecol int

THERE AND BACKA significant number of Ecolint’s teachers were actually students at Ecolint themselves (one educated guestimate suggests a figure of about 5% or 1 in 20 teachers). This is the first in a series of three articles in which we hear from some of these returnees about how it feels to be back at school and teach where they were once taught. It is also interesting to hear what has changed and how things seem different from a new perspective.

Paula Behrens now...

... and then.

12 echo15 | autumn2014

Esprit ecol int THERE AND BACK (SUITE)

Sarah Travaglini (Osterbery), Year 4 Teacher, La Châtaigneraie

I started going to school at La Châtaigneraie in 1984, joining Year 4 and instantly loved my new school. The two girls who dragged me to join them at their table on that first day are still close friends. I stayed all the way through to graduation in Year 13 and have enough good memories to fill a book. Last summer, a friend organised our 20 year reunion. I really enjoyed re-living some of our memories and catching up with my old friends. After graduating from La Chât, I went to Royal Holloway, University of London, in the United Kingdom and did a BA (Hons) in European Studies, essentially Geography with languages. After that, I decided to qualify as a teacher and did a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. I must confess that it had never really been my first intention or wish to become a teacher (despite what friends around me kept saying) but I thought I should get the qualification, since the thought of teaching did keep resurfacing. When I returned to Switzerland after university, I got a job in a small global branding firm as a market research representative and thoroughly enjoyed my work. However, part of me was still thinking about teaching and when I saw a job advertised in a nearby school, I went for it and got the job. I started the

following September and stayed there for five years. It was a great experience but I was always hoping to work at La Chât which had first given me my inspiration and nurtured a love of teaching. I started teaching at La Chât in September 2005. I taught the extra Year 6 that existed for a year when the Mies Campus closed and Campus des Nations opened. When my colleague left at the end of the year, my job became permanent and I ended up teaching Year 6 students in my own old Year 6 classroom!

The minute I started working at La Chât, it just felt right. This is understandable in many ways considering it was my own Primary School. I love having reminders of my time at La Chât every day. Nowadays, those memories are less frequent because the Primary School moved into a brand new building with all of its own facilities in 2011. This means that we no longer use the old Primary School building, nor the Secondary School buildings, like we used to. But I do have a view of the old buildings from my classroom and definitely daydream about the old days when I am looking out. The fact that La Chât is my old school is a definite plus. Many of my old teachers are still around in the Secondary School and a number of alumni are also working at the school (four of them are from my own graduating year!) I enjoy seeing all the familiar faces around me at school and among the alumni parent body. This is the second year that I am teaching the children of former students who were my classmates or a few years above me and this will no doubt continue. Nine years after starting as a teacher at La Chât, I continue to love my job. I like that despite the many changes in the buildings and student population, the school spirit lives on. My own son has just started at La Chât this year and it is a very proud moment, for more reasons than one.

... and then.

Sarah Travaglini (seated, middle, second row) now...

13echo15 | autumn2014

Esprit ecol int

90 YEARS, 9 QUESTIONS, 90 ALUMNI

The nine questions we are asking alumni are:• How long did you spend at Ecolint?

• How did you come to attend Ecolint in the first place?

• Which teacher had the biggest impact on you and how?

• What was your favourite spot on campus and why?

• What was your favourite place in the wider region, and why?

• Describe your life today, where you live and what you do.

• What should be Ecolint’s top priority as it approaches its 100th anniversary?

• What “words of wisdom” would you pass on to today’s Ecolint students?

• What has been the biggest impact of your Ecolint education on your life?

Answers so far can be found at: alumni.ecolint.ch > Project 90-9-90

Below are a selection of our alumni answers to the question:

What has been the biggest impact of your Ecolint education on your life?

Bengt Lidgard (La Chât ‘84): It gave me a sense that everything is possible and that an international community is a normal state of life.

Will Best (La Chât ‘91): The feeling that people and cultures all over the world are fa-miliar to me. My country is the whole world.

Susan Kostelecky Schulz (La Chât ‘77): Keeping a curious and open mind to all new ideas and subjects as well as living with the Ecolint philosophy: the respect of all people; no matter what their nationality, colour, creed, religion or background.

Isabelle Gilliéron (LGB ‘82): L’ambiance internationale, l’ouverture aux autres, le respect de l’autre dans sa culture et ses coutumes.

Douglas Hofstadter (LGB ‘63): Ecolint gave me life-long friendships, instilled in me an undying love for languages, made me deeply believe in internationalism, and taught me respect for people of all stripes. It also showed me that the area where I grew up, though rich and sophisticated in some ways, was also very provincial. My year at Ecolint revolutionised my life. I would be someone entirely different had I not gone to Ecolint.

Ross Dawson (LGB ’80): The enormous breadth of cultures and people I experienced at Ecolint has shaped my deep appreciation for humanity’s extraordinary diversity.

Michael Haber, (LGB ’59): Several of my teachers at Ecolint, in a natural, dedicated, deeply felt way, loved and were inspired by the subjects they taught. It may have been unconscious in me at the time but I too wanted a passionate, dedicated life like theirs for myself and I found it, probably inspired by their example.

Per Söderström (LGB ‘ 70): The interna-tional perspective – to the point that national news never covers what it all is about.

Donate Dobbernack (LGB ‘62): La facilité de pouvoir m’exprimer en plusieurs langues, la compréhension de l’autre si différent soit-il, l’ouverture d’esprit, la curiosité dans des domaines divers, le sens du travail d’équipe, l’esprit d’analyse et d’initiative, constituent autant d’éléments que j’ai pu développer grâce à l’éducation à l’Ecolint. Ils ont forgé ma personnalité et m’ont beaucoup aidée durant ma carrière professionnelle (et pendant bien des tractations et discussions) et pendant la vie tout court.

Jennifer Pitzer (LGB ‘88): I have friends all over the world – they come from every country, practice every religion, and yet we

all understand that we can get along and help each other despite our differences.

Jessica Walsh (La Chât ‘02): It imbued a very deeply-rooted belief that we are all equals; until I left Ecolint, I thought that racism and xenophobia was the stuff of history books. That belief has profoundly affected both my personal relationships and my professional aspirations.

Andrew Buckle (LGB 1964): I have no bias towards class, colour or creed. I now know this came from my Ecolint days, for it was normal to go and play with a Muslim friend, or a Nigerian or an American. So when I came across discrimination I rejected it, with sympathy for the ignorant and shame on the bigots who promoted such values.

This year, as Ecolint is celebrating its 90th anniversary, the 90-9-90 Project was set up to try and paint a picture of Ecolint’s alumni community today. The aim is to get 90 alumni to answer nine questions during our 90th anniversary year. At the time of going to press, 50 alumni had answered the questions.

Les anciens et pas so o ld

FRIENDS REUNITED

Eduard van Beyma, LGB’60

Réunion mondiale des anciensJ’ai décidé de venir parce que je participe depuis 1989 avec énormément de plaisir.Ce que j’apprécie le plus, ce sont les rencontres avec mes ami(e)s d’école et (pour ceux qui restent) mes professeurs. Aussi, retourner aux emplacements de l’Ecolint me fait beaucoup de bien en revivant mes années de jeunesse en Suisse. En me baladant sur les sentiers cachés de La Grande Boissière, je me rappelle bien les baisers volés de mes amies, les trucs qu’on inventait pour irriter les professeurs, qu’on aimait le moins, la tension au cœur juste avant les épreuves, la gaité après avoir passé des examens, etc, etc. SouvenirsLa situation de l’école que j’ai connue de 1956 à 1960 a changé considérablement. La quantité d’étudiants a énormément augmenté et cela se répercute sur l’organisation de l’école, qui est devenue beaucoup plus compliquée. De véritables masses d’étudiants, idem pour les professeurs, plusieurs campus, un cadre financier d’un tout autre ordre.Ce qui est resté, c’est le magnifique Théâtre Grec, l’endroit paisible des châtaigniers à LGB, la belle porte de l’école, le château, le coin charmant des petits bâtiments en face de la pelouse, le bel immeuble où il y avait l’internat. Ça respire toujours l’ambiance des années cinquante du vingtième siècle. Par contre je suis très fier que l’Ecolint ait pu réaliser

le spectaculaire Centre des arts, le beau terrain de sport et la cafétéria. C’est ce qu’il faut vraiment sur un campus sérieux. Je résumerais mon passage à l’Ecolint ainsi : «du déjà vu au spectaculaire dans tous les sens.» L’influence de l’EcolintL’Ecolint a réaffirmé mon attitude de curiosité positive envers les personnes qui n’appartiennent pas à mon milieu

de naissance aux Pays-Bas. Pendant ma jeunesse, j’avais vécu pendant huit ans en Indonésie (une ancienne colonie néerlandaise). À l’Ecolint, j’ai appris que les barrières de la langue et de la culture ne sont pas aussi difficiles à franchir qu’on le pense. Et que derrière ces barrières se trouvent des milliers de personnes avec qui je peux facilement devenir ami. L’Ecolint m’a aussi stimulé fortement à m’engager dans ces amitiés internationales. Je lui en suis très reconnaissant. L’Esprit EcolintJ’ai deux exemples que je n’oublierai jamais. Au mois de mars 1960, en pleine préparation pour les examens de maturité, mes deux parents moururent dans un accident de voiture, à leur retour en Suisse. Pendant les jours suivants, trois de mes camarades de classes

se sont présentés à notre maison de campagne à Onex. Un Tchèque, un Italien en un Français. Ils venaient me consoler. Un de ces trois amis, l’Italien, hélas décédé il y a quelques dizaines d’années, m’offrait l’utilisation de sa belle voiture ancienne, une Fiat de 1930, qu’il avait reçu de son père en cadeau. Les larmes me viennent aux yeux alors que je tape ces mots sur mon ordinateur. Quelques jours plus tard, l’ami Tchèque

s’est présenté chez nous, accompagné de sa mère. Ils exigeaient que je vienne vivre chez eux pour les mois qui restaient, pour pouvoir passer les examens de maturité au mois de septembre. Ils avaient réfléchi à ma déplorable situation et ils avaient constaté qu’un déménagement aux Pays-Bas, qui était inévitable, me ferait manquer les examens de maturité. Étant déjà des amis, ils le seront jusqu’à la fin de ma vie. L’ami Tchèque était présent à la réunion des anciens de 2014 (et toutes les réunions depuis 1989). Autre chose… ?Je vous dirais continuez sur la bonne route où vous êtes, n’hésitez pas à compter sur vos anciens. Ils vous aiment. Salutations écolintiennes, à la prochaine réunion !

echo15 | autumn201414

Nous avons eu le grand plaisir d’accueillir 600 alumni sur nos campus du 12 au 14 juin 2014 pour la 7e Réunion mondiale des anciens. Eduard van Beyma, LGB ’60, revient sur les bons moments passés lors de ce mémorable week-end.

Ecolint is a not for profit educational Foundation created in 1924We depend on your support to continue providing the highest quality international education. Please consider leaving us a legacy or making an endowment gift.

Make a difference For more information, please contact: Michaelene Stack, Director of Development Email : michaelene.stack@ecolint.ch – Tel : +41 (0)22 787 26 63

15echo15 | autumn2014

FRIENDS REUNITEDLes anciens et pas so o ld

A NOTE FROM THE ALUMNI OFFICE I was delighted to join the Foundation last April to build on the good work of my predecessor in the Alumni Office. Marie-Christine Muller gave birth to twin girls in April. She says she is enjoying motherhood but missing Ecolint!

Naturally, the Alumni World Reunion was my top priority during those first few months. The event itself was a great opportunity for me to meet with many alumni and get a clearer idea of what you expect and want from Ecolint. You will find photos from the World Reunion on p.16-17.

I spent the summer months learning more about the history of Ecolint and its alumni, working on improvements to the website, and planning various new initiatives. Elsewhere on this page we highlight some of those improvements and initiatives, and I also encourage you to learn more about our 90-9-90 Project on p.13. Maybe you could even help us reach our grand total of 90 alumni?

I am here to serve you, our alumni. You are welcome to contact me – by email, telephone or post – or to visit the Alumni Office in Le Manoir at La Grande Boissière. I am here every day except Tuesdays, when I am based at La Châtaigneraie.

I look forward to hearing from you!

EoghanP.S. My name, in case you were wondering, is the Gaelic version of Eugene and is pronounced as “Owen”.

eoghan.osullivan@ecolint.ch+41 (0)22 787 2555

Who are you?In August we published our first infographic – or “Alumnographic” – providing a picture of our worldwide alumni community. Where are our alumni living today? What professional paths have they followed? What is the age profile of our alumni community? We have even looked at the most common Ecolint names!

Find it here: sl.ecolint.ch/alumnographic

What is new on alumni.ecolint.ch?• We have simplified the menus to make it easier to

find or discover content like your school Yearbook, the Classmate Search tool, the Ecolint Online Boutique or the latest news and blog posts.

• We have revamped the Member Profiles, taking away some superfluous fields and adding new ones about educational and professional paths after Ecolint. Why not sign in and update your profile today? (It will help us to make an even more interesting Alumnographic next year!)

• We have started building a library of Class Photos. We would love to add yours to the collection. Send them to alumni@ecolint.ch.

• We are now sending a short monthly e-newsletter to all members, including links to the latest news and highlighting new projects and events of interest to alumni.

Get social!We are increasingly active on the social networks you know and love. Why not join us there?

Find links to places where alumni are getting social here: sl.ecolint.ch/getsocial

facebook.com/isg.ecolintgeneve By “liking” our official Facebook page you will add occasional Ecolint news and views to your newsfeed.

sl.ecolint.ch/linkedinThe official Ecolint Alumni LinkedIn group is a great place to expand your professional network.

Eoghan O’Sullivan,Alumni and Development Officer,

Development Office

For three (mostly!) sunny days in June there was a feeling of nostalgia in the air as around 600 alumni gathered for the 7th Alumni World Reunion. Occurring every five years, this year’s jamboree served as a curtain-opener for the school’s 90th anniversary year, thus lending an added feeling of celebration to the occasion. Here’s a selection of photos from the event, many submitted by participating alumni.

The Ecolint flag flew along the pont du Mont-Blanc throughout the days of the Alumni World Reunion. Many participants remarked how proud they felt to see their school given such prominence. We are grateful to the Ville de Genève for making this possible. Irene Pournaras (Campus des Nations ‘11) sent us this lovely photo capturing the flag in full flight. (She has received a gift voucher from the Ecolint Boutique as our jury selected her photo as the best of those submitted.)

Les anciens et pas so o ld

“Paul Cantini and Renée St John back at the Aub after 30 years!” Photo by Lindsey Allan Williamson (LGB ‘82).

Vera Narishkin Hart (LGB ‘66) sent us this photo taken as the alumni gathered for the opening ceremony in the Greek Theatre and said: “Ride Sober, Live Free - and live a long, long time so as to attend a great many reunions!”

Matt Cox (LGB ‘81) sent us this photo with old friends, David Greschler and Giuseppe Rossi-Espagnet: “There were so many special moments over the course of the reunion but this picture was taken on the Wednesday, my first night in Geneva, and the first time in 40 years that the three of us were together again. We were great friends then, and even greater friends now. Vive Ecolint!”

REWIND TO THE REUNION

Irma Abbas sent us this happy bunch from LGB circa 1979. Front row: Jan Uygur, Roger Salem, Jan Van Uchelen, Mimi Dimond, Veronica Dean, Irma Abbas, Caroline Brown-Straessle, Laura Rossi-Espagnet (Betty). Back row: Marcus Williams, Kevin Mulvaney, Thomas James, Jackie Garstang-Williams, Stephen McDonald.

echo15 | autumn201416

We couldn’t resist this one, also from Matt Cox, as it’s a great example of the many happy moments during the Tea with the Teachers sessions at La Grande Boissière and La Châtaigneraie: “Another very special moment was meeting Mrs Quin who had been our Year 4 teacher. I had prepared a small photo album containing party pictures and class photos and we were able to sit and reminisce about our time together. Amazingly, as I approached her she said my name. Not bad after 43 years! A truly wonderful and inspirational woman.”

The decision to hold the Welcome Back buffet dinner indoors, taken due to the threat of rain, received some criticism. Feedback on the event will be very useful when it comes to organising the 2019 event. Visit the AlumBlog on the alumni website for a summary of the feedback received (sl.ecolint.ch/alumblog).

Kermesse day at La Châtaigneraie is always popular with alumni, but this being a World Reunion year meant there were additional visitors from overseas. Susan Kostelecky Schulz (Sue Kostelecka at school) sent us this photo featuring, from left to right: Susan herself, Lisa Applegate (née Clark) and Roger Bleackely (all La Chât ’77), and Cindy Clark Beckley (La Chât ‘79).

Just under two-thirds of the participants came from outside Switzerland, with the USA accounting for about fifty per cent of the visitors. The two biggest events were the Welcome Back Party at LGB, with around 380 attendees, and the combined Class Dinners at the Brasserie des Halles de l'Ile (covering LGB '59 to '71) with around 200 people! The photo below is of the Class Dinner for La Chât ’71-’89 at the Auberge de Founex, once again excellently organised by Ian Cogswell-Prince (La Chât ‘81).

The Vintage Tram Ride, which was fully subscribed well in advance, was a great success. Jeff Noebels (LGB ‘68) sent us this photo with his sister Laurie Munn (LGB ‘65), both looking very happy to be back in Geneva.

REWIND TO THE REUNION

17echo15 | autumn2014

18 echo15 | autumn2014

FROM HERE TO 2019…

CAMPUS DES NATIONS:

TRANSFORMING THE AULA AT GRAND-SACONNEX

Our 90th anniversary year has got off to a momentous start, combining celebrations of our past and visions of our future. Students have feted the Esprit Ecolint with balloons and cakes and we have taken time to revisit our historic roots. Led by our Director General, Vicky Tuck, we have also given careful attention to our future.

Working with our Treasurer, Mark Poole, Campus and School Principals and Directors, our Director General has been leading endeavours to translate the vision in Our Focus for the Future (www.ecolint.ch/fff-sa) into a detailed five-year capital development plan for our facilities and programmes. Focusing on the needs of students on each of our campuses and schools, and core services such as Information Communication Technology, we are prioritising projects which need resourcing up to 2019.

Our capital plan will drive our capital investment and direct fundraising efforts. Fundraising continues to evolve from the

Annual Fund, familiar to many of us, to a focus on larger capital giving, supported by community campaigns. Last year, major gifts were the cornerstone of our new Centre des arts and numerous community gifts were made for our paving stones and seats.

The arrival of M. Laurent Falvert as Finance Director in August 2014 has been accompanied by a commitment to open financial communication with our various stakeholders. Laurent has not hesitated to

reach out to parents and colleagues alike to share the challenges of making sure that Ecolint is financially able, as stated in the school’s Vision for an International Education, “to strive continually to promote excellence in all aspects of its provision, to do better than its previous best, and to model the values that it encourages in its students.”

If you have any thoughts or questions please do not hesitate to contact me:Email: michaelene.stack@ecolint.chTel : +41 (0)22 787 26 63

A first project to flow from our five-year capital development plan is that of the much-needed transformation of the old gym at the Grand-Saconnex site. We have moved forward with the architects to define a project with an estimated cost of CHF 2 million. With the support of the Governing Board, Lesley Meyer, Secondary School and Campus Principal, is looking forward to sharing the ambitious plans with her school community as we move from the concept, to avant-projet, to planning permission. We plan to use a mixture of Foundation capital and CHF 700,000 of fundraising to finance this project. With works scheduled to commence in July 2015, we look forward to working with the whole community to raise the funds needed.

Coming up or just been Michaelene Stack,Director of Development

Architect’s view of a possible transformation

19echo15 | autumn2014

Coming up Each year on our three campuses, many events are open to all community members. Why not come and join us? Please check the school and alumni websites for more information about dates or call the schools directly.

Chaque année sur nos trois campus, de nombreux événements sont ouverts à l’ensemble des membres de la communauté scolaire. Venez vous joindre à nous ! Consultez les sites internet de l’école et des alumni pour trouver les dates ou contactez directement les secrétariats des campus.

Dates and details will be updated regularly and are available on our websites:

School website: www.ecolint.ch

Alumni Web Community at: alumni.ecolint.ch

Alumni Office: +41 (0)22 787 25 55 Reception telephone numbers• La Grande Boissière:

+41 (0)22 787 24 00

• La Châtaigneraie: +41 (0)22 960 91 11

• Campus des Nations: +41 (0)22 770 47 00

Coming up or just been

A VOS AGENDASFOUNDATION

15-16.12.2014 Students’ League of Nations - Palais des Nations

14.01.2015 Ecolint Annual Education Conference, “Education for Peace”, at the United Nations. For further information go to www.ecolint.ch/education-conference

28.05.2015 Consultative General Assembly (Election 2015 to the Governing Board – results) La Châtaigneraie

SCHOOL EVENTS

26.02.2015La Châtaigneraie Careers Evening :If you are a parent or alumnus and would like to share information about your career, please contact beatrice.hoesli@ecolint.ch

09.03.2015 La Châtaigneraie International Baccalaureate & Maturité Vernissage

24.03.2015 La Grande Boissière International Baccalaureate Vernissage

25.03.2015 Campus des Nations International Baccalaureate Art Vernissage

PTA EVENTS

12.12.2014 Campus des Nations Festival of Lights

13.12.2014 La Châtaigneraie Marché St Nicolas

10-11.03. 2015 Campus des Nations, “The Bacchae”, Year 11 production

24.04.2015 La Châtaigneraie Primary School Spring Festival

27.04-2.05.2015 Campus des Nations Footloose Secondary Musical

ALUMNI EVENTS

24.11.2014 Professional Networking for Ecolint Alumni, The Key and Eagle, Geneva. See: alumni.ecolint.ch/event/pronetgva1

17.12.2014 Students’ League of Nations 2014 Extroardinary Alumni Session –Palais de Nations

22.11-13.12.2014

Escalade Dinners 2014Atlanta (12 Dec); Boston (TBC); Chicago (11 Dec); Dallas (6 Dec); Denver (6 Dec); Detroit (6 Dec); Geneva (4 Dec); London (8 Dec); New York (13 Dec); Singapore (28 Nov); Sydney (22 Nov); Washington DC (13 Dec).For venues and contacts see: sl.ecolint.ch/dinners14

Michaelene Stack Director of Development – Monossala Kira Assistant to the Director of Development – Catherine Mérigay Development & Communications Associate – Eoghan O’Sullivan Alumni & Development Officer – Francis Poncioni Graphic Designer – Nicolas Smiricky Development & Information Officer – Christophe Tournaire Web Commmunity Manager – Sandra Venturini Assistant to the Director of Development – Brian Wahlen Development & Communications Associate (Fundraising)

Edited by Krista Clausnitzer – Designed by Francis Poncioni – Printed by PCL Presses Centrales S.A. – Production 13,800 copies

International School of Geneva – 62, route de Chêne – CH - 1208 Geneva – www.ecolint.ch

Alumni community : alumni.ecolint.ch development@ecolint.ch – Tel : +41 (0)22 787 24 31 – Fax : +41 (0)22 787 26 35 alumni@ecolint.ch – Tel : +41 (0)22 787 25 55 – Fax : +41 (0)22 787 26 35

The International School of Geneva does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion or national origin in its admission policies or in the administration of any of its programmes. Submission of articles, letters and photos from staff, current and former students and their families is welcomed. echo is published twice a year by the Development and Alumni Office, International School of Geneva and is also available on the school and alumni websites. For more information about echo or to submit information for publication, please contact the Director of Development. If you would like additional copies of echo, please contact Nicolas Smiricky the Development & Information Officer. The Development and Alumni Office has made every effort to ensure that the information contained in this edition is accurate and complete. However, despite our sincere desire to avoid errors, they do occur occasionally. © Copyright of the International School of Geneva, November 2014.IM

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FROM HERE TO 2019…

20 echo15 | autumn2014

HumourThings our parents teach us / Les choses que nos parents nous apprennent :

Logic: ”Because I said so, that’s why.”

La guerre: “C’est toi qui a encore fait exploser ta chambre!”

Foresight: ”Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.”

Anticipation: “Attends qu’on soit à la maison!”

Irony: ”Keep crying, and I’ll give you something to cry about.”

Sagesse: “Quand tu auras mon âge, tu comprendras!”

Contortionism: ”Just look at the dirt on the back of your neck!”

Stamina: ”You’ll sit there until all that spinach is gone.”

Justice: “Qui sait, peut-être bien qu’un jour tout ça t’arrivera ... Tu auras toi aussi un gamin comme toi!”

Religion: ”You’d better pray that that mark will come out of the carpet.”

Comment devenir un adulte: “Mange tes légumes, si tu veux grandir!”

Hypocrisy: ”If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times. Don’t exaggerate!”

Advertising in echo

Change of Address ?

Where are you now?Join 6,000+ members of our Alumni Web Community: alumni.ecolint.ch Update your online profile or send your contact details to alumni@ecolint.ch.

Miss Price’s Year 6 Class, LGB 1988

echo magazine is published twice yearly (in the autumn and spring). It has a print run of 13,800 and is distributed to current and former students and their families, our staff and corporate and institutional partners. The next issue is due out in spring 2015.

If you would like to advertise in echo magazine, please contact development@ecolint.ch or call +41 (0)22 787 24 31.

If this copy of echo is being sent to the wrong address, or if the recipient’s address has changed, there are three ways to update us:1. Email: alumni@ecolint.ch2. Telephone: +41 (0)22 787 25553. Web: alumni.ecolint.ch (where you can manage your details via your user profile)

Got an article idea ? Please email the editor: krista.clausnitzer@ecolint.ch